TransmuteTale - An Undertale AU
by Beanst3r
Summary: After yet another reset, Frisk loses her memory and attempts to survive in the strange "new" world of the underground. She makes some friends, sure, and seems to settle in pretty nicely. But it's not long before some of them start acting out-of-character, and thing only go downhill from there.
1. Here we go again

**It's been a while huh? Not to worry, I'm not dead :D As the description said, this is my first AU, and I'm very excited to start writing about it! I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I am writing :) Alright, 'nuff said. Enjoy!**

She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Even gasping was out of the question. Frisk felt her HP drain away as a slimy tendril of… something wrapped around her chest, cracking her ribs. She wanted to cry out, to scream, to express her pain somehow. But by doing so she would waste valuable breath. So she bit down on her tongue and tried to look away, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the pulsating mess that was all around her. Everywhere she looked, "he" was there. There was no escaping him. Growing desperate, Frisk looked up to where she thought his face would be, and instantly wished she hadn't. The smell was bad enough, like a giant rotting carcass, but the sight made her feel even sicker. His face was a messy canvas of eyes, teeth, and God knows what else. It was almost comical. If she wasn't having the life crushed out of her, Frisk might've laughed. All over his "body" were faces. Melted, groaning, expressionless faces. She saw everyone in there. Sans. Undyne. Toriel. Everyone. They were horrible. They all had a sort of half-smile, but looked as though they were halfway through melting. She felt sick as tears came to her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

"Wh- why…?" She croaked, her words jagged glass being scraped through her throat.

All eyes pointed towards her. Even the faces of her friends looked at her. He rolled back what might have been his head. Frisk's ears screamed as a demonic laugh composed of several pitches ricocheted through her ears. She was certain they were bleeding. Even the faces took the chance to take part, their high-pitched giggles chilling her to her very core.

"' **WHY?** '" He mocked, some kind of saliva trailing from his mouth as he spoke. Frisk closed her eyes as it splattered all over her, drenching her clothes and plastering her hair to her forehead. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her view, but to no avail. Without warning, she flew upwards. The tendril that was grasping her was now racing her towards his face. It stopped right in front of him, his breathing uneven and enraged. " **YOU DID THIS TO ME!** " he screamed, his mouths baring their teeth. " **YOU AND YOUR LITTLE BAND OF DO-GOODERS!** ". Out of the corner of her eye, Frisk saw the faces of her friends trail up the side of him, coming to rest so that they were sat all around his face. They all spoke in perfect sync with each other.

" _Did this. Did this. Did this. Did this_ " they chanted, growing louder with every word.

" _Could've saved us_ "  
" _Didn't listen_ "  
" _Selfish_ "  
" _Now look at us_ "

"No..." Frisk clenched her eyes shut as she shook her head. "No no NO!" She screamed. It was hopeless. They only grew louder.

It was all hopeless.

Frisk hung her head and let her tears flow. They stung as they ran down her cheek, stopping at her chin. They paused for a second before dripping off. She sniffed as she accepted her fate. This was it. Soon she would be dead, wiped from the face of the Earth. With only the voices of the damned to accompany her. But over the sounds of the voices, she could have swore she heard what sounded like sizzling. Something was burning. She opened her eyes slowly and scanned for the source of the noise. Her vision was blurry from tears, but unfortunately the sight of him was burned deep into her skull. Suddenly she noticed a thin pillar of smoke and looked down. There, on his tendril, was where the tear had fallen. A puzzled expression sprawled across her face, and she looked up to his. She only grew more confused.

His face was contorting slightly. Jerks of pain shooting across his face. She felt his grip on her loosen, and she grew hopeful. For a second. Gritting all of his teeth, he pulled her even closer to him.

" **You little FUCK!** " He roared, the sheer volume from her proximity to him almost bursting her ear drums. She then felt herself pulled upwards towards the ceiling, the sudden wind whipping her hair violently. Frisk was just held there for a moment, suspended in the air, whimpering, before a tremendous force brought her back down, hurtling towards the floor.

"I don't want to die…" She mumbled, what little sound she made lost to the howls of the wind. She couldn't die. Not yet.

Using every ounce (or gram) of strength she had left, she focused. She focused on being able to see all her friends again. Focused on her happiness, and all the good that was in her life. As she concentrated more and more, a button began to appear.

Reset.

"C'mon…" She pushed harder, remembering all the times Papyrus' smile greeted her, along with a plate of stale spaghetti. The button materialized more. She remembered Undyne's intensive training session, leaving them both drenched in sweat. Reset grew a little clearer. The wind howled louder. The ground rushed up to meet her. She sweated. She pushed. She hoped.

She dreamed.

With a final breath, Frisk screamed as her determination pushed through. The reset button was right there, clear as day. Frisk thought he would have been screaming "Noooo!" or something. Maybe he was. With a final push, the tendril smashed Frisk through the button. All of a sudden the immense pressure on her chest was gone, along with the demonic voices, however the wind was still present, pounding against her hair and clothing. She used what little breath she had to breathe a sigh of relief. Luckily, the floor of a cave wasn't rushing up to meet her anymore.

It was the edge of a cliff face.

She only had time to widen her eyes a little as Frisk's body slammed against the rock face, sending sparks of pain shooting through her skull, before falling once more. She landed with a _whumpf_ on a bed of golden Flowers, blood flowing from every part of her face. A particularly nasty gash across her cheek was bleeding the most. She weakly groaned as her senses went numb, and moved for fingers up to her cheek. It was warm. She gazed up at the sunlight that was streaming through the cave, shining where she lay. Frisk let her head fall back as she waited for her brain to kick into gear. She turned her head to the side and caught a glimpse of a blurry figure standing in a doorway. Frisk strained to open her mouth to call out to it.

And then everything went black.

 _Who is sh…?_

...on't know. I… ust foun… lying ther...

She's… ot a monster…

Doesn… atter. Help me mov… inside…

Being dragged. Damp floor. Sounds. Frogs? Getting warmer. Feels like carpet. Warmth. Cotton.

As she slowly regained consciousness, Frisk became gradually more and more aware of her surroundings. She couldn't see, but her other senses were kicking in. The first thing she noticed was her wrists. Someone, or something, was dragging her by the wrists. Slimey. Whatever it was, it was a horrible feeling, and she would've said something if she wasn't using her energy to keep herself conscious. Instead, she elected to submit to whatever was dragging her and let them carry on. At least they hadn't killed her… Yet…

Then a new voice sounded in her ear. It wasn't like anything she'd ever heard before. She only spoke a few words, and Frisk could tell it was a warm, soft, and caring one. She just hoped it belonged to someone of similar qualities.

"Why hello my dear Froggits!"

 _Froggits?_ Frisk wondered to herself, her fatigue rendering her unable to do anything.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visi-" She stopped mid-sentence. Frisk assumed that was this woman noticing her. Her eyes flicked about under her eyelids. She was starting to regain her strength. Whatever was holding her let go of her wrists, which fell and landed softly on a rather lovely fabric.

"Th- thank you…" The woman stuttered. "I'll take things from here." With that, Frisk heard a smacking sound that grew more distant every time. Eventually she couldn't hear anything.

 _Must have been them hopping away._ She thought to herself.

Suddenly, she found herself being scooped off of the floor, and felt herself being held against this mysterious woman as she carried her through the house. Her hands were huge! And was that... _fur_? Frisk looked calm on the outside, but on the inside she was frightened out of her mind. Where was she? Where was she being taken? What the hell was going on? She had to escape.

Frisk balled her right hand into a fist. She would startle this woman, make her drop her, and then run for it. She swung up her fist with all she could. Her arm raised a few centimeters before drooping pathetically over her left side. She guessed that perhaps she not as strong as she thought she was. Frisk was so preoccupied with devising an escape plan that she barely noticed that she had been placed on a bundle of materials. She instantly relaxed a little, and even more so when she felt a thick cover being pulled over her. She wanted to resist, to fight back, to do something. But her body just wouldn't allow it. She hadn't been in that bed a minute and her mind was already shutting down. A pain was scorched across her face, and she had no idea why. But the pain seemed to fade more and more with each passing moment, until it was nothing more than a dull ache. The woman's voice sounded once.

"Goodnight little human. Sweet dreams". With that, Frisk heard a door quietly being shut, closing with a click. She raised her head by a fraction.

"'Human'? What does she mean by-" And then she was out like a light.

Drip. Drip.

On her face. Cold.

Slowly, Frisk awoke from her slumber to a cold sensation tingling on her head. It was still dark. She quickly wiped at it with her sleeve and stared down at it. It just blood. Heh, "just". She must have reopened a cut on her head somehow. Her fingers investigated the cut, prodding at it. Almost instantly she was greeted with a searing pain. She jerked her hand away instinctively and gave a small yelp.

"Oww…" She whimpered. Even though the pain woke her up for a moment, she realised she was still extremely tired. Deciding exploring was a bad idea, especially with that woman somewhere out there, she decided it'd be best to go back to sleep and figure something out tomorrow. Sure she was in a strange place with even stranger people, but at least they weren't dangerous (or at least didn't outwardly appear so). Deciding that whichever logic let her sleep was the best, she sank back into her blankets and closed her eyes.

 **How's that for an opening? Mysterious enough for ya?**

 **Thanks for reading, see you in the next page!**


	2. Do I know you?

**Here we, go, page two! I don't know about you but I'm really enjoying writing this :))**

"Mmmhh… wha…" Came Frisk's first words of the morning. She lifted both hands up to her face and let them slide down slowly over her eyes. She smacked her lips and looked around as her brain gradually woke up. As she sat up in bed, she took a moment to observe the room she had been placed in. The walls were decorated with a warm red paint, various pictures and shelves adorning the walls. The bed she was in was a perfect size, allowing her to stretch her toes and legs without having to worry about them dropping of the end of the bed. Bliss.

A gentle throbbing on her forehead reminded her that she still had no idea what the hell was going on. Her mind was clouded with extremely vague images. A corridor? Some sort of science-y place? Goo? Frisk had no idea. She reached up to touch her cut, only to touch cotton. Bewildered, she placed both hands on her head to find that someone had wrapped a bandage all around her head. Despite being in a strange place, she smiled. _Must have been that woman._ Frisk thought to herself. _Maybe she's not so bad after all._

Looking around, she spotted a mirror across the room, propped up against a wall. Wanting to see how she looked, Frisk pulled back the covers and swung her legs out of the bed and onto the floor. She gave a final yawn and stretch of the arms before finally getting up. Something as simple as flexing her toes felt great, as Frisk felt she hadn't moved in ages. She walked up to the mirror and instantly started sniggering. She struggled to stifle a laugh as she examined herself in the mirror. The way the bandage had been wrapped around her made it look like her head was twice the size it actually was. She looked ridiculous. Luckily, she only a few bruises. By some miracle she hadn't broken anything, just a few cuts here and there. There wasn't anything, not even a dislocated finger at the very least. She curled her fingers slowly to see if she _had_ broken anything. She winced, expecting pain to strike at any second. Nothing.

Confused, but ultimately grateful, Frisk turned her attention to the bedroom door. Light was leaking out from underneath, spilling out over the floor. She hesitantly tiptoed over to it, and pressed her ear gently against the door, listening out for any signs of life. At first, all she could hear was a gentle crackling, like a fire. Then more sounds came into earshot. Footsteps, plates knocking together, laugher perhaps? As the footsteps grew louder, the voices became clearer.

"...my word that's horrible!" More laugher. Frisk moved her head away a little bit, slightly worried. She shook her head and placed her ear back up against the door. "Are _all_ your puns that bad?" Puns?

"I dunno, probably. Nothing gets _under my skin_ after all." Came a deeper voice. Male this time. Again Frisk heard the woman laugh. She must've found it hilarious, because she could hear her clapping her hands together.

Now Frisk really was confused, and appalled. Not only was that a bad pun, it wasn't a pun at all! She tried to understand, perhaps she was missing something. Still nothing.

"Stay put you, I'll be back in a minute!" She heard.

"Sure thing." Replied the other voice. With that, Frisk heard footsteps and saw a shadow pass by her door. Somewhere in the distance, she heard a door creak open and shut. Frisk decided that she couldn't stay in here forever. Whatever was out there had to be better than staying in here and dying of boredom. Hesitantly, she wrapped her fingers around the door knob. She breathed out rather heavily and opened the door. Frisk poked her head out the door and checked to her left. It led out into a small corridor, two other doors at the end. Satisfied she wouldn't be seen, she stepped out of the bedroom and headed right, smacking immediately into someone.

She instantly looked up to see who she had knocked into, ready to apologize. Instead, she was met with a flash of blinding green light. Dazed, she stumbled backwards a few steps before falling over. Frisk propped herself up on her arms and looked at this person. As she was still recovering from the flash, it was impossible to make out his face, only that he wore a hoodie with rolled-up sleeves, a quilt sleeveless jacket, and some shorts. He himself was also very short. Whoever he was, he was clearly shocked. He took a few steps back, before Frisk noticed his shoulders relax. She willed her vision to clear, and when it did, she finally got a good look at his face. Big mistake.

As her eyes regained focus, she saw that he had a lot of teeth. He was also bald. Hang on, why was his skin grey? Realisation struck Frisk like whatever had given her that cut. That's not skin… She stared in horror at his face. The thing that had been emitting the light had actually been his eye. Except he didn't have any... A lime-green flame flickered about calmly in its place. He only had the one "eye", which was now locked onto Frisk. Her eyes widened. He had his hands held out in front of him, which Frisk hopefully thought that meant that he didn't mean any harm. She took the chance to look at them briefly. Those were… skeleton hands. Her eyes darted to his feet. Skeleton legs. Frisk looked back up again. No, skeleton _hand_. His right hand was "normal", but his left was… metal. She saw some dials on it, flashing numbers, and other things. She didn't look at it for long however, her mind was preoccupied by the fact that there was a talking skeleton stood right in front of her.

"Uh…. Hey..." He said rather awkwardly, without moving his mouth. A few beads of sweat rolled down the side of his hea- skull… "Its uh, rude to stare y'know". He gave a very small chuckle.

Frisk just stared blankly. The skeleton grew more nervous, but then he seemed to notice her bandage. He knelt down on one knee so that he was level with Frisk. She didn't move, how could she?

"Ouch… You hit your head or somethin' kid?" He asked. She managed to force a quick nod. "Hmm…" He muttered as he moved his hand up to her forehead. He placed his thumb on the bandage.

 _She watched in horror as "he" wrapped a tendril around his hand.  
" **your magic ain't so powerful without THIS is it**?"_

A blur.

 _"Go! Just go!". Hands everywhere. Clawing. Grasping. Frantic crunching of feet against snow._

Frisk jerked away. He did too at the same time. Fresh memories burned themselves into her brain.

All of a sudden this skeleton looked extremely familiar. Her face broke into a wide grin.

"Sans!"

At the same time, his did too, but slower.

"Oh my god… Frisk..." There were no questions. No hesitation. No doubt. Frisk jumped right into Sans and embraced him. He gladly reciprocated, holding onto her tightly. After a few moments, they parted. Sans stayed on his knee and grabbed Frisk by the shoulders.

"God it's good to see you again" he chuckled. "How you doin' kid?" Frisk wasn't sure.

"What did you do? I… I remember… everything…"

"I know kid, I know…" He ruffled her hair comfortingly. "But hey, if it's anything like last time, _don't_ rely on it, alright? Whatever it was like before, it's not gonna be the same this time." Frisk nodded. Maybe that was a good thing.

"So… now what?" She asked.

Sans shrugged. "Grillby's?" Frisk looked around nervously.

"What about Toriel?" She asked. She'd only just "met" her, Frisk didn't want to her a bad "first" impression. Sans simply waved the thought away.

"Ahh forgetabouit" He said casually. "I'll leave a note". Before Frisk could protest, he summoned a post-it note and a pen out of thin air, and began scrawling down on it. He spoke at he wrote.

"Heya Tori… Taking… the human down… to Grillbz for… food… back in… an hour… Love Sans… kiss kiss…"

As soon as he said those words, he looked at Frisk with a look of horror. Apparently he hadn't meant to say those last words out loud. A blush was already pushing through his face.

"Heh, told ya didn't I? Every time is different" he reminded her shyly. He stuck the note on Frisk's door and turned to her. "Ready?"

That infectious grin found its way onto Frisk once more. "Uh huh". Having gotten confirmation, Sans turned to face the wall. He brought up his left hand and stretched it outwards towards the wall. In an instant a hole opened up, its edges glimmering an emerald tint. Looking through it Frisk could see a wooden bridge, tied to a cliff with a few pieces of rope.

"C'mon, we have to walk _sometimes_ " he mocked. Frisk rolled her eyes and lightly punched his shoulder. At that, they stepped through the hole, which closed instantly behind them. Merely seconds later, the door at the end of the corridor opened. Out stepped Toriel.

"Goodness, I wonder if the child is awake yet!" she exclaimed. She hurriedly walked down the corridor and up to Frisk's door when she stopped. "Hmm… What's this?" she wondered as she picked up the note.

-

Seeing as Snowdin earned the name by constantly being blanketed in snow, Grillby's was the heart of the town. It was warm, it was cozy, and all the food you could eat! If that wasn't enough for you you clearly had your priorities wrong. Sans loved coming here, it was his favourite place in all the underground (aside from the ruins, duh). He _had_ been over to MTT's place once, but you couldn't open a tab and that alone was enough to turn Sans away forever.

Grillby was in his usual place; behind the counter and cleaning the dishes. Occasionally he would glance up to check on his customers, and every time he'd smile at how much they were enjoying themselves. The place was always full of food, people, laughter, and music. And that was just how Grillby liked it.

Soon enough, the door swung open as Sans stepped in. He brought a gust of cold air with him as the door shut, but it was soon overcome by the warmth of the place. Grillby noticed Sans and gave him a small wave. Sans returned the greeting by giving him an uneasy smile.

"God… I haven't been here in a _long_ time…" he muttered to himself. He kept looking around as he walked up to the bar, eventually placing himself on one of the bar stools. Grillby noticed where he sat.

"Not sitting in your usual place today Sans?" He joked.

"Hmm?" He asked, looking at the other stools. "Oh uh… Nah. Don't uh, don't really feel like sitting there... today."

Grillby looked confused, but shruged it off. "The usual?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"The _usual_?"

Sans looked lost. Grillby sighed.

"Burger and fries?" Sans face lit up a little.

"Oh yeah! Yeah, please." He smiled awkwardly. "Uh, can you make that to-go as well?"

"To-go?"

"Yep."

"As in taking the food with you?"

"Yeah…"

"You never have to-go Sans."

"Yeah, well, I'm feelin' adventurous today." He said. Grillby looked at him oddly.

"Alright then…" With that, he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Sans to himself. A few minutes later, Grillby returned, carrying a paper brown bag. Grease had started to seep through the bottom. Just the way he liked it. Sans reached into his short pockets.

"What do I owe you?" He asked, fishing a bunch of gold coins out of his pocket. Now Grillby was truly taken aback.

"Five gold" he said suspiciously.

"Five… gold…" Sans repeated as he separated five gold coins from the small pile in his hands. They clinked together as he gathered five in his other hand. "Here you go!" He placed the coins in Grillby's hand as he grabbed the bag from him. He peeked into the bag and inhaled the fumes. "Ahhh man, this smells really good." He said as he wrapped it up again. He got off the stool and headed towards the door. He called back to Grillby. "Thanks Grillbz, I owe you!" The door opened and shut again, and he was gone in a flash.

"Yes, you do Sans…" He muttered to himself, wondering why he hadn't put it on his tab. Perhaps he _was_ feeling different today. He told himself not to ponder on it and instead opted to get back to work.

A few minutes later, Grillby heard laughter outside the door and looked up from his dishes at the door. Sure enough, it swung open.

Frisk shivered as she stepped inside. "It's _freezing_ out there!" she complained, shaking from head to toe. Sans chuckled as he brushed a few stray pieces of snow out of her hair.

"Hey, could be worse! Ya could have been stuck out there... forever!" He exclaimed in mock horror, earning a small laugh from Frisk.

"C'mon, all this joking is making me hungry." She told him. Sans gave a small bow to her.

"As her majesty wishes." They both walked up to the bar, Sans sitting comfortably in his favourite stool. "Sup Grillby, how's it hanging?" He asked. For some reason, Grillby didn't look as enthusiastic as he normally did. Sans noticed.

"Everything alright Grill'?" He didn't look sure.

"Bit soon to be eating again don't you think?" He asked him. Now it was Sans' turn to look confused.

"'Again'? What you talkin' about? I haven't been here since this morning."

 **Dun dun dunnnnn! Confused? You should be :D**


	3. I thought we were friends

**Here's part three, enjoy :D**

Why Undyne expected to be hit with the same force as usual, she had no idea. The training dummy she was holding slammed against her, causing her to slide backwards. She inhaled and exhaled rapidly, before setting the dummy down to address her student.

"Damn..." She began, raising her voice a little in order to be heard over the sound of a nearby waterfall. "I get that you're a fast learner an' all, but ya _really_ know what you're doin' when it comes to fightin', don't ya?"

Papyrus' form sagged a little, his bone spear dissipating from his hand. "Thanks but… I still wish I didn't have to do this." He said sullenly. Undyne dismissed her own spear and walked up to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She shook his a little as she spoke.

"Look, it's no biggie, alright? Sure it feels weird now, but when yer fighin' for ya life out there-" She pointed at nothing. "-battlin' merely to continue existin'? It'll feel right then, trust me." She ended with a sweet smile, which Papyrus gladly returned.

"Thank you Undyne… I just… Hope to be as awesome as you one day." He admitted shyly, earning a blush from Undyne. "No I… I really mean it! I want to be as good as fighting as you! I- I want to be able to be as _fast_ as you! I-" Undyne swiftly cut him off with a finger to his non-existent lips.

"Hey, now listen, bud." She mockingly jabbed at his chest piece with her free hand. "Don't ever go thinking like that, alright? Alright?" He nodded a small bit. "I mean look how far we've come! A few weeks ago ya wouldn't even go _near_ a fly, but now ya could crush one with two _fingers_ if ya wanted!"

"I'd rather not…"

"All I'm sayin' is, don't be disheartened, 'kay?" Another shake. "We'll get there one day".

At that moment, movement on the path behind Undyne caught Papyrus' eye, but thanks to her super-sharp hearing picking up the sound of rapid footsteps, they both noticed. She turned to look at what Papyrus was looking at. It was Sans! He was running through waterfall along one of the other paths. Papyrus' mood improved tenfold. He called out to him.

"Hey! Brother!" Papyrus yelled over to him. Sans heard him, and turned to see who had called his name. Seeing Pap, Sans gave him gave an uneasy smile and an even uneasier wave as he kept running. He seemed to be clutching his left shoulder as he headed deeper into waterfall. Confused, Undyne turned back to Papyrus.

"What's his problem huh?" She asked him. Papyrus just shrugged.

"Not sure… It's not like Sans to walk anywhere, let alone _run_!" He exclaimed.

"Must be real important…" She muttered. A stray thought disappeared as quickly as it came to mind. Undyne shook her head. "Anyway, it's getting on for time." Papyrus glanced at his wrist, then realised he wasn't wearing a watch. Still, he reacted somewhat shocked.

"Goodness, you're right!" She giggled. "Would you... like to hang out at mine until my brother comes back?" He asked her hopefully. Truthfully, he hated being on his own. The kid in Papyrus wouldn't let him drop that fear anytime soon. But he casually passed it off as an invitation. Undyne eyed him suspiciously before grinning.

"What, and 'do whatever it is people do when they date'?" She sniggered. Papyrus' smile vanished and was replaced with an expression that was halfway between embarrassment and awkwardness. Whatever it was, he sure wasn't comfortable anymore.

"Aw c'mon… That was ages ago!" He protested, not happy with being reminded about his first attempt at a 'date', which simply consisted of him and Undyne hanging out in his room. Sounds interesting, sure, but in reality he just spent the time proudly displaying his bedtime story collection. He was so confused as to why Undyne had spent most of the time curled up on the floor laughing until tears were rolling off her scales. They weren't meant to be _funny_ stories…

"Ahh I'm only teasin' ya!" She smiled. Papyrus remembered a section about how to behave like a gentleman from his "date" book and offered his arm to her.

"Shall we?" He asked, doing his best to refrain from laughing. Undyne on the other hand wasn't doing so good, struggling to stifle her laughter. She let it escape for a few seconds before getting it under control.

"Of course good Sir!" She mocked. "Lead on!" And off they went. They set off from Undyne's training ground and headed back to Snowdin.

"What are you thinking?" Frisk asked him as they walked, the soft crunching of snow greeting their every footstep. Snowdin wasn't busy at all. There were a few people milling around here and there, but apart from that, everyone was most likely at home, or Grilbby's. Sans had no idea, and didn't reply for a few seconds. He simply shook his head, looking mentally defeated.

"I'm thinking… that, that whole bar is losing it" He said honestly, giving Frisk a little shrug. She didn't get it either.

"And… I'm not crazy am I? There are definitely no other skeletons apart from you?" He shook his head.

"Absolutely not, and if there were, you'd be sure word would spread around town fast." Frisk agreed. Whoever it was, it definitely wasn't Sans. "Whatever, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it, yeah?" Frisk liked the sound of that. "Hey, since we're not busy…"

"We're _never_ busy" Frisk pointed out sarcastically, making a silly face at him.

"Since we've got nothing to do then…"

"Better." A cheesy grin.

"...how about we go see my Bro? I betcha dying to meet him? And, to be honest," he added, remembering that one timeline. "I think he could do with seeing a human." He finished, winking. The mere thought of seeing Papyrus again put a warm smile on Frisk's face. Papyrus; the most charismatic person she had ever met. The most loving, the most enthusiastic. Even the mos-

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention:" He said suddenly. Frisk turned to him in confusion.

"What? What is it?"

"Well, he's, uh… not like the Papyrus you know…" He admitted sheepishly. Hearing this, Frisk stopped and turned to look at Sans.

"What do you mean?" She asked, worried. "He's not _evil_ or something is he?" Sans snorted.

"Oh no! God no, nothing like that." Phew. "He's just a bit more… 'enthusiastic' about capturing humans."

"Seriously?" He nodded. "Wh- Sans. How much more enthusiastic can he b-"

"Brother!" Came a booming voice from somewhere in front of them. They both whipped their heads round to see who had yelled in such a terrific manner. At first, Frisk could make out Undyne from one of the figures. Her gleaming armour never failed to catch her eye. But, Undyne was standing next to this figure… Frisk did a double-take. No. Way. Standing not too far in front of her was the skeleton she knew and loved, but his "battle body" was gone. In its place, covering him from chest to toe, was the most magnificent armour Frisk had ever seen. Those strange symbols were still on him, but now they were carved into his left breastplate. She also noticed he was handling a helmet in his right hand. It was engraved in areas to look like a skull, and it looked like it swung open at jaw. Very nice.

Oh yeah, he wasn't too happy to see her. Right.

As soon as Frisk snapped back to reality, she looked at Papyrus just in time to see him bring his left hand upwards. A split-second later, giant bones erupted out of the ground, their blue glow forcing Frisk to shield her eyes.

"Nyah hah hah! Got you!" He yelled triumphantly. She saw Undyne lightly punch his shoulder plate, mouthing "nice one". Luckily, Sans recovered from the shock first, and stepped forward. He waved his arms frantically at Papyrus.

"Pap, wait!" Papyrus stopped. "Really Sans! What on earth have you been drinking? Can't you see that this is a _human_?" Sans looked quickly at Frisk, then back to his brother.

"Yeah, I can. And I can also see that this human right here ain't out to murder us or anything like that." He explained scornfully.

"The last one was." He countered.

"Yeah, they tried. Once. A few hundred years ago. A lot's changed since then Pap. Humans ain't as violent as you'd like to think."

"But Asgore said-"

"He didn't _say_ anything. He _doesn't_ say anything. All he does is sit in his house and write various letters and posters and whatever else about how all humans are the worst thing ever. Nobody's even seen him in decades! And that's after he saw, what, _one_ human! For _two_ minutes! Just think for a moment Pap, who knows more about humans currently? A paranoid old geezer who hasn't seen a human in forever, or your own bro? Your own bro who, might I add, hasn't _ever_ lied to you." He stopped talking for a moment to catch his breath. He wasn't used to talking this aggressively, and for this long. This gave Papyrus to doubt himself. The bones around Frisk began to shake.

Undyne, on the other hand, hadn't been budged by Sans' words. All she did was give an eyeroll, before she bounded towards Frisk. She rushed head-on at her, her spear materialising in a brilliant flash of red, the heart in her armour giving off a red glow that pulsed rhythmically. With a tremendous leap, she leapt forward, hefting her spear in both hands. Just as it was about to make contact, Sans swept up his left hand in response, a needle on one of its dials snapping to the maximum value. At the same time, his green flame returned, and a blaster appeared out of thin air. Just as Sans had planned, Undyne slammed her spear into his blaster instead, cracking the top of it. The force cause the spear to shatter as Undyne landed, looking up at the blaster. It's eyes flickered for a few seconds before they went out completely, like a pair of lone candles. It hovered in the air for a second more before it fell out of the air. Meeting the ground with a _crack_ , it smashed into several pieces. With the essence flowing back into him, Sans turned his attention to Undyne, but she beat him to it.

"The hell man!" She roared, not caring about the concept of personal space. "A human shows it's face after all this time, and you wanna… _defend it_?" She seethed, disgusted. Sans' flame didn't shut off.

"Yeah, a human _does_ show it's face after all these years, and you wanna just kill her?"

Before he could stop her, Undyne brought out another spear. This one seemed to glow angrier than the one before.

"Yeah. I do" She stated blankly. She turned to finish the job once and for all, and stopped. The bones around Frisk were gone, and so was Frisk. Astonished, Undyne's eyes darted around for the human. They found it a few seconds later.

"Wowie… You're not so bad after all, are you?" Papyrus asked her playfully. She shook her head and kept hugging him. He turned to Undyne. "Undyne, look! Look at how friendly they are!" Silence. "Undyne?"

She just stood there, still holding her spear in the air. At last, Sans' eye shut off.

"Told ya." He muttered as he joined Papyrus and Frisk.

"Sans, you're so selfish!" He accused. "Keeping this wonderful thing all to yourself? Why just look how friendly they are!" Sans held up his hands in defence.

"Hey, you're the one that was set on capturing her bro, I didn't wanna spoil the mood." Frisk looked at him, worried. "Chill kid, I'm just kiddin'." Oh.

"Hey, Sans..." began Undyne. She seemed to have calmed down, now that she saw that Papyrus wouldn't come to any harm. Or anyone else, she quickly added. "What were ya doin' over in Waterfall just now?"

"What do you mean?" Undyne raised an eyebrow.

"We saw you in Waterfall earlier, you were _really_ goin' for it. Is everything alright?" Sans looked to Papyrus, giving him a look that said "are you serious?" Papyrus read his face and nodded to confirm. Sans looked back to Undyne, then glanced at them both.

"Wh- guys. I haven't been to Waterfall tod- ohh…." He looked over to Frisk, sharing his worried expression.

"What?" Both Undyne and Papyrus asked in sync.

"What?" Both Undyne and Papyrus asked in sync.

"So, there are _two_ of you?" Asked Papyrus.

"As far as I know, yeah."

"Oh great, just what we needed." Undyne muttered.

"You mean to say that you and Asgore have your own clones?"

"Wait, what?!" Sans was shocked. Oh right, he meant Toriel.

"Wowie… I wish _I_ had my own clone…"

"Look, guys, this is serious." Sans stated, before the topic got too off-track. "If there _is_ a clone of me out there, who's to say there isn't one of you guys! They might be running around right now for all you know!" That seemed to grab their attention. "Undyne, d'you see where he was heading?" She nodded.

"You wer- sorry, _he_ was running in the direction of hotland last I saw."

"Hotland…" The hell did he want in Hotland? "Well, we gotta go after him!" Undyne gave him her toothiest grin, proudly displaying all her teeth. It still managed to unnerve Frisk every time she saw them.

"Two Undynes?" She scoffed. "No way. Not happening. Not while I've got anything to say about it." She clenched her fists instinctively. Sans nodded, and turned towards Papyrus.

"One of you is more than I can handle already. We certainly don't need another one running around and making even more of a mess than you do." Sans gave a genuine smile.

"Thanks bro." He patted him on the shoulder. He turned to the smallest member of the group. "Frisk?"

"Duh, of course I'm coming! You think I'm gonna sit around and do nothing? I haven't learnt _that_ much from you, sheesh." Sans responded to her cheeky grin with a ruffle of her hair.

"That's settled then, yeah?" They all nodded. "Right then, let's g-"

"Ahem..." Came a familiar voice, which happened to be the one he loved.

"Oh Christ." He muttered. He turned reluctantly to see Toriel standing above him. "Heya Tori! What uh… Wha'cha doin' out here?" He asked, a nervous laugh escaping his mouth. She just stood there, foot tapping the ground. Her motherly instincts were in full force.

"Just where do you think you're going young man?" She inquired, awaiting a reply. Sans scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, uh, we were just gonna- y'see, there's a- uh…?" He grinned extremely uneasily. Frisk sighed and stepped forward.

"We've seen a different Sans wandering around, so we're all going to Hotland to investigate!" She blurted out, throwing caution to the wind.

"Really…? Another you?" She asked him.

"Seems that way." Came his sheepish response.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Toriel asked him. "I like to think you're one of a kind mister, even if you _are_ the trouble making kind." More nervous laughter from Sans. She took his hand in her paws, and held her other up to him. "After all, you promised, didn't you?" A glint of light shone off the gold band that was around her finger.

"Yep, I remember that all too well." He recalled, winking. Toriel couldn't help but smile. She had already forgiven him dammit.

"Yo, hate to interrupt this reminiscence of yours but…" Undyne cut in, jerking a thumb over her shoulder, pointing towards the path to Hotland.

"Right, right…" Sans said to himself. Him and Toriel parted. He looked up at her. "You wanna come?" He asked, not really knowing what else to suggest. She gave a chuckle.

"Of course! I wouldn't let you walk to Hotland all by yourself!" She mocked.

"Watch it you…" He retaliated. Holding her paw in his hand, they _finally_ set off towards Hotland. Being together again felt great, but Frisk still had a cloud of nervousness hanging over her. She could already feel the heat just thinking about it.

 **A small bit of information for my AU: If you're wondering why the different colours of magic for the characters, it's because in TransmuteTale, your LV is represented by the colour of your magic:**

 **LV 0 = White**  
 **LV 1-5 = Green**  
 **LV 6-10 = Red**  
 **LV 11-15 = Orange**  
 **LV 16-19 = Purple**  
 **LV 20+ = Black**

 **Also, as LV is your iability/i to inflict pain, you can gain LV through violent acts other than murder. You can also reduce LV (slowly) by doing good deeds (and cleansing your soul, as some would put it)**

 **Any other questions, let me know :D**


	4. Something shifty's going on

**Whoooo page four! Here we go!**

Hotland was possibly his least favourite place in the entire underground. It was hot, it was unnecessary, and uncomfortable as hell. If he were able to, he would have gladly moved to somewhere else long ago. Unfortunately, at the risk of being discovered, that wasn't an option. Still, at least Hotland was relatively remote. Not to mention that this place had all the technology and science you could handle. Perfect for someone of his… situation. He impulsively rubbed his shoulder as he walked, a futile attempt to ease the pain. He only succeeded in seeping his residue deeper into his clothes. They weren't real clothes, obviously. But still, ech...

The ground crumbled a little around his feet as he walked, giving way to them and leaving a miniscule crater where he stepped. He trudged through Hotland for what seemed like hours. It always seemed bigger compared to the previous time he visited… And he visited a lot. After what felt like an eternity, the steel doors of Alphys' lab finally stood in front of him. Just in time too, as he glanced at his arm. Crippled with exhaustion, he rested his hand on the door to catch his breath. He had been outside for _way_ longer than he should have been, and he hadn't even brought any DT with him. _You IDIOT! What were you thinking?_ he thought to himself. A small feeling of what felt like running water caused him to examine his arm. It was really starting to melt now, and all the heat rising from the lava below wasn't helping. His grasp on this form was slipping. He had to get inside. Clenching his fist, and now more determined to get inside, he pushed the door button hard. Only few stray sparks of electricity jumped from the button in response. Fantastic. The rest of the building loomed above him as he looked up.

"The power out again Alphys?" He called through jokingly, not expecting a response. He didn't get one. He tried the button again. Nothing. Dropping his arms heavily, he sighed loudly.

"Oh for Christ's…" He trailed off, exasperated. Being secretly watched was always a small paranoia of his, and he routinely looked around to check if anyone _was_ watching him. They weren't. Deciding that he was getting in one way or another, he bent down to grasp the bottom of the door, sliding his fingers into the gap between door and the ground. In order to get good leverage, he grew his feet and dug them into the ground. To compensate the weight of the door he stretched his fingers up into the lab and wrapped them around it, holding the door the way someone would hold a ham sandwich. With a sharp intake of air, he strained as he lifted the door upwards. Sparks flew out from the door as the locking mechanisms failed, breaking as they were forced open. They gave out with a _ping_ and dropped to the ground. Still he continued to bring up the door.

"Don't… trouble yourself Alph…" He wheezed between breaths, speaking in multiple pitches at once. "I'm… comin' in!" A dark chuckle followed. Once the door was halfway up he stopped and let go, moving back a few steps to admire his handy work. That was more than enough, and he didn't want to expend any more precious energy then he had to. True, getting inside that lab was his top priority, but so was staying in one piece. His master plan wouldn't work if he was reduced to a mere puddle. Straightening up once he had crawled under the door, he left it open. He wouldn't be in here long. Alphys was still in her usual place he saw. He gestured to her with a small wave. A confused look was the only response he got from her, so he just shrugged and continued on his way.

"Alright… 'scuse me for bein' civil…" He muttered to himself. Whistling as he walked, he made his way over to her elevator, and pushed the call button. A few seconds passed without anything happening, and confusion was about to set in, before he remembered. Oh right, power's out. Getting more irritated by the second, he decided that if he wanted something done, he'd have to do it himself. He cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers, before they lengthened and sharpened a great deal. Bringing up both his hands, he positioned them in line with the gap between the sliding elevator doors.

"Don't sweat it, I'll pay for the damage!" He yelled over to Alphys casually. She wouldn't mind. In one quick movement, he thrust his hands into the crack between the elevator doors and metal doors suddenly screamed as they began to tear right out of their place. With the metal bending and creaking under pressure, he took a quick breath and gave it another pull, using more force than before this time. The doors bent outwards before they were completely ripped from their place. In all honestly he wasn't expecting that to work so soon, and not being prepared for this, he fell backwards as the doors came loose. They flew overhead as he fell, crashing into the wall behind him and destroying some expensive-sounding stuff. He winced at the noise, but at least a collection of crap anime merchandise and a flatscreen TV were of no use to him. He suspected Alphys would have a different attitude towards it than he did, in fact he was certain she was screaming right now.

He lay there for a moment, unable to shake off the small feeling of shock and surprise he was still feeling, until his attention was drawn to what felt like a small pool gathering around him. The gentle reminder that becoming a puddle for all eternity was an option if he didn't get a move on was enough to remind him that there would be plenty of time to rest later, even though he knew there wouldn't be. So much to do, so little time. He grimaced at the thought. Waiting was his specialty at this point. There wasn't much else he could do for the past few hundred years.

Deciding that he liked the sound of having a physical form much more than the alternative, he picked himself up. Every movement sent ricochets of pain right through his body. He returned his hands to their "normal" state as he staggered over to where the elevator doors had once been, and looked down. There was nothing but a drop. All that was below him was a long, dark, seemingly bottomless pit that led into even more nothingness. Home sweet home.

Most energy was used as he strained to contort his body, producing four long and slender tendrils out of his back. Making sure he had sufficient control over them, he he simply stepped off the floor and into the pit. His tendrils shot out immediately to stop him from falling. Controlling each once with care, he slowly made his way into the elevator shaft. What little light was left in the lab disappearing from view as he crawled deeper into the abyss.

After a few moments of crawling, the occasional curse, sweating, and gradual melting, he finally reached his floor. Utilizing his claws once more, he pried open the weaker doors with ease and slipped inside.

"Now… where's the…?" He muttered to himself, scanning the room for the shape of the- "Ahh, there you are." He said with relief, his eyes landing on the fuse box for the room. Resetting the fuses was easy enough, he just flipped open the cover and examined the switches. They had shorted out. Again.

"Man, I really need to get Alph to look at this. 's breaking every other day".

Having a little experience with this stuff from all the previous times the fuses had shorted out, he simply flicked all the switches down, and then flipped them back up again. As if by magic (and a bit of science), the place flickered to life. He looked on as lights slowly gave light to his place, bathing every surface in a pale shade of yellow. Everything was still in its place. His work station, with all the notes plastered all over it, his samples, his observation notes, and his box of spare parts. He walked over to that box and peered inside. Looking at its contents always reminded him of a particularly fond memory.

"Behold! My NEO form!" He mocked as he hefted a wheel in one hand. What a loser. He chucked the wheel back into the box and carried on across the room. Flicking another light switch, The Betrüger came into view. Connected to it by complex cabling were five small pods. Each was just big enough to fit a person inside, with the glass to observe the inside clear as day. He marveled at his handiwork. It only produced five Soulless Ones at the moment, but with a few modifications, he could easily increase production tenfold. He just needed a "willing" test subject. Apart from that, the only other thing that was down here was cobwebs, dust, and more cobwebs, and although it wasn't the ideal working conditions, they were the best given his current situation. Down here, he could work totally uninterrupted. Every now and then he would ever go up to visit Dr. Alphys. He felt like he should worry about her ratting him out somehow, but he knew she wouldn't tell anyone, even if she wanted to.

Remembering the task at hand, and the panic that came with it, he made haste over to a cabinet labeled "sustainers" and flung it open with considerate force. There were a multitude of drawers inside, and he pulled the second-to-top one open, revealing several syringes, each filled with a churning orange liquid that glowed with the intensity of the Sun itself. Without hesitation, he picked one and immediately jabbed it into his chest. It pierced his skin, diving straight into what was left of his soul, clicking the button on the tip of the handle. Almost instantly he began to feel better, feeling the DT being pumped into him, coursing through his body. Not five seconds later, he dropped the now-empty device. A long sigh of relief escaped him as he examined his arm. It was melting no more, and already felt a lot better. Flexing his arm, rotating his wrist, and curling his fingers, he was satisfied he had full control once more. Not wanting to repeat his mistakes, he gathered some extra syringes from the cabinet before shutting it. He turned and walked over to the mirror on the other side of the room, gazing at his machine as he passed it.

"Don't worry… Soon, I promise."

As he walked, he cleared his mind, and focused his thoughts on one individual in particular. If he was going to cripple their special little group of friends, he had to go after the one that would be easiest to use as a bargaining point first. Who better than this pathetic whelp? With each step he took, his body twisted and contorted as he took on a new form. He gritted his teeth, attempting to suppress his urge to yell out in pain as his new legs took shape, straightening and shifting into flat pieces. A metallic coating of colour flowed over them seconds later. His new body continued to convulse and move into place over his current one. The new body oozed across his chest and down his arms, the colour following shortly afterwards. He closed his eyes as his form finally covered his head, completing his transmutation. Opening his new eyes slowly, he blinked a few times to make sure they were in proper working order. They were. Undergoing this process was a familiar act to him now, and he was getting better at doing it more efficiently every time. But damn if he hadn't gotten used to the pain yet. Shifting his shoulders to make sure they were comfortable, he headed for the elevator shaft. Just as he got to it, he turned and trailed a finger over to the light switch, flicking them off. Darkness enveloped the room once more as he clambered out.

The dim light of Alphy's lab was a welcoming sight as he clawed out of the doors. Using the elevator would be so much more convenient, but in order to maintain an "abandoned" aesthetic, it had to remain deactivated. Constantly checking for possible witnesses, he strolled towards the exit, passing by Alphys.

"I'll be sure to come back Alphys, don't wait up for me." He said coyly, his multi-pitch chuckle resonating from him once more. "I can see you're not busy after all, just _hanging around!_ " He cringed. He sounded just like that little idiot. The door slammed shut with a terrific smashing noise, metal colliding heavily against the floor. Alphys still didn't answer, and he didn't expect her to. After all, it was damn near impossible to when you were rendered completely immobile, stuck to the ceiling with your mouth sealed shut.

 **What do you think of *that* huh? :D Couple more pages and you'll get to see him interact with the rest of the group :)**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


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